Raising A Human

All seedlings have been retrieved. All hosts have been terminated. Stage Two has commenced. The reassignment process has begun. The replicates will receive indoctrination and undergo comprehensive and austere training. They are being prepared to infiltrate the human systems of the world. They will be instrumental in initiating the New Order.

A medical exam is performed on the new crew members. They receive hygiene and grooming instructions. A security officer leads them to tour the cafeteria and conference hall. Procedures are stated, explaining the daily schedule.

Three meals are served each day. After the morning meal, all will attend the conference hall. After the daily briefing, the replicates will resume their specific training routines.

Sankara follows the orders and directions which are given but feels that something is wrong with the other humans. The ones like himself are referred to as “replicates.” All the other replicates move about quietly, without speaking. Their faces contain no expression, just blank stares. He thinks that though they appear as humans, they are not.

His father had explained to him the wide diversity of humans. Sankara was surprised when he first came aboard. Of the other humans here, only a few of them appear like him. The others have different skins tones, eye color, and hair type.

His father had explained the human female gender, but this is his first time to see them. There are many females among the replicates. Sankara notices several of them that have features which arouse interest. But even the ones with fine features have the same blank stare.

As the tour of the vessel continues, Sankara attempts communication with one of the females. “I have never experienced a vessel such as this. Its construction must have taken a long time.”

The female replicate looks at him and replies, “You must have developed in a primitive environment.” She turns away from him.

“You said ‘primitive.’ My father used that word before.” The female does not respond and continues moving with the others through the passageway. They are being led to rooms to which they will be assigned.

A security officer enters the small compartment with Sankara. He provides instructions for the bathroom equipment and the closet, which contains the garments he is to wear. The room contains a bed, desk, and chair. There is a flat dark device on the wall above the desk. Sankara points to it and asks, “What is this object?”

The officer peers at Sankara, as if he is shocked by the man’s words. “Well, you are an inquisitive one, aren’t you? I guess you have been living alone on an island. I’m sure most of the things that you will encounter here will be new to you.”

“I did not live alone on the island. I lived there with my father.” Sankara says proudly.

“So, that inferior human host made you call him ‘father’, huh?” The officer laughs and shakes his head.

Sankara tries out the bathroom utilities and wonders where the water goes when he flushes the toilet. He takes a shower and is delighted to be able to adjust the water’s temperature. He dries his body with a soft cloth towel. He dresses in the strange garments that have been prepared for him. He has never worn this much clothing before.

He does not like wearing shoes. Though his father had shoes, he only tried them on a few times. It seems awkward to walk with shoes on your feet, but all the humans here wear them. He understands that he is expected to be dressed suitably.

During the evening meal, Sankara attempts to engage in conversation with others at his table. Very few reply to him. They eat their meals in silence. He does not notice any interactions between the other replicates. He wonders why he is different from them.

Returning to his compartment, Sankara hears several security officers in conversation. They are loud and seem happy. They are very unlike the replicates.

He stops near the officer’s station to listen to them. One of them notices him standing there. It is the officer who took him into his compartment. “Hey you, do you need something?” The officer walks towards him. He looks at the name tag on the right side of the replicate’s shirt, “Is everything okay, Mr. Sankara?”

Another officer says, “What’s wrong with that one? Why doesn’t he just go to his room?”

“Everything is okay. I heard you speaking with the other officers and was interested in your conversation. You seem to behave differently than the others, why is that?”

The officers break out in laughter. One officer says, “What’s up with this guy?”

“Yes, he was asking questions when I showed him the room.” He stares into Sankara’s eyes, “There may be something wrong with this one. He is not passive like the other replicates. I’ll report it to the physicians. They will need to check him out.”

Sankara is not sure how to respond. The officer places a hand on the replicate’s shoulder, “Come on, Sankara. I’ll escort you back to your room.”

At the compartment, Sankara asks, “What is your name?”

“Ha! You are the first replicate to ever ask me that! And why, Mr. Sankara, would you need to know my name?”

“You know my name.”

The officer laughs and replies, “Tuareg, I’m Officer Tuareg. Listen, I told the other officers that I would report your strange behavior to the physicians. I only did that so they will not. I’m not going to report you, but you need to be careful. If they notice that you are different from the others, they may do things to you, very unpleasant things, to bring you in line with their plans.”

“I do not understand.”

“You are acting like a real human, but you’re not really one of them. Look man, what I’m saying is if you want to stay out of trouble, you will need to act like the other replicates.”

Sankara understands but feels strange about having to pretend that he is something other than himself. He nods to the officer, “Thank for your instructions Officer Tuareg, but you did not answer my first question.”

Tuareg smiles at the statement, there is something about Sankara that he likes. He is intrigued by this one. “What question was that Mr. Sankara?”

“Why do the officers behave differently than the replicates.”

“Wow, Sankara, you may be dangerous. You are thinking hard about all this stuff, huh? Okay man, it’s like this, we are from the first generation of our species on this world. All crew members aboard this vessel, excluding you replicates, were regular humans before our conversion. We were infected with the seed of our species.

“There was a global pandemic on this world, over a decade ago. The pandemic was initiated by the Master Species. It was a smoke screen. There was a select, special version of the virus, that created the first generation.

“All of us of the first generation retained our human traits and personalities after conversion. This allowed us to progress the operation on schedule and undetected.

“All replicates are the second generation. As seedlings, each of you merged with a human host. You needed to copy a human biological pattern in order to grow and develop. You will learn more of this from the daily briefings.”

“Thank you, Officer Tuareg, for answering my questions.”

“Remember, on this ship, you just need to act like the other replicates. This will keep you safe and sound. Just follow the program.” The officer opens the door to leave.

“Good night, Officer Tuareg.”

“Ha-ha, yeah man, good night to you as well.”

During the morning meal, Sankara does not engage with anyone. He eats his meal in silence. He does not like to pretend that he is one of them. He misses having breakfast with his father and the conversations that they enjoyed.

In the conference hall, Sankara takes a seat, among the hundreds of other replicates. There is a stage in the front of the room. A man in a long white coat walks to the center of the stage. The man has a device in his hand. He is making movements with his other hand, tapping, and touching the device. The room’s lights are dimmed.

A large, clear circular object is lowered from the ceiling. It is held by mechanical arms. A pulse of blue light is emitted from the round object. The replicates are mesmerized, looking up at the glass ball, watching the three blue lights move in their familiar dance. Information flows into the minds of the replicates.

“We are the eternal. We are the primordial. We are the three in one. The Master Species has reigned over many thousands of generations. Dozens of worlds have been mined to sustain our enterprises. Subspecies are engineered to begin the operations for each new world. A New Order has been established on each annexed planetary object.

“This world is rich in resources. The current ruling, inferior species, has not governed the resources responsibly. Each replicate will be positioned into the human systems of government and global organizations. The positions will be those that were formerly performed by their host. The subspecies are loyal servants. The Masters demand obedience.”

The briefing continues for over four hours. Afterwards, Sankara is tired and feels wan. Some of the information that he received from the daily briefing is confusing and troubling. He makes his way to his compartment. Though it is time for the mid-day meal, he is not hungry. He wants to rest and try to process the information that he received from the briefing.

He stretches across his bed. He is still grieving and imagines that he is in the cave. He lies upon his upholstered bed. Moshe, his father, sleeps close by on a grass mat. He imagines that he can hear the waves slapping on the beach below. Sankara drifts into a fitful sleep.

He awakens to an alert from the display screen. He rises and takes a seat at the desk. His mind is still troubled by the information he received during the briefing. There are instructions in his thoughts. He knows what he is to perform.

He places his hands on the table. It lights up, revealing many symbols. He understands that the symbols are in a human language. He is astonished that he can read and understand the language.

The display screen changes and presents a variety of items to select. The briefing has prepared him for the utilization of this technology. He opens the file on Moshe Sankara and begins reviewing the life and accomplishments of his father.

He scans through the specifics of recent history. A part of him is exploring his revelations of the briefing. Soon, all the modern human industrial operations will be converted to producing the minerals, which the Master Species requires. Mining the planet is the main objective of the New Order. What then, will become of the humans? Their systems of societal support rely on their ability to produce the consumer items that sustain them. How shall they maintain themselves if all industrial operations are utilized, only to satisfy the Master Species?

He reads, studies, and consumes the information, but his thoughts keep returning to the human population of this world. The thoughts are like a heavy weight. He has always wanted to meet other humans.

It is the evening mealtime, and he walks with his food tray to locate a place to sit. He notices a female replicate who has tears streaming down her face. He takes a seat across from her. He leans close and whispers, “Are you injured or experiencing pain?”

She wipes her eyes and looks at him with surprise. She whispers back, “What? Why do you ask?”

“I have cried tears before when I was experiencing pain, but I had my father to comfort me. I thought that you may need comfort.”

She leans closer to him and whispers, “You had a father, and I, a mother. She was terminated in front of me. That is why I cry.”

Sankara feels the weight of guilt and the heaviness of grief, “My father was terminated as well. At night, I cry for him.”

With dry eyes she looks at him. Her stare causes him to feel a yearning that he does not understand. She whispers again, “All of the other replicates only had host. Why are we different from the others?”

“I do not know, but I am happy that there is another like me.”

She smiles at him. He notices that her features are fine. He enjoys looking in her eyes. Other replicates take seats near them. They finish their meal in silence.

They have returned the trays and are walking back to their compartments. Moving side by side, her hand brushes against his. Sankara turns towards her. She is smiling. Her smile is pleasant and inviting.

She stops at a door and whispers, “This is my compartment. Thank you for your kindness.” She looks at his name tag, “Goodnight to you, Mr. Sankara.”

He feels apprehensive and does not want to leave her presence. He reads her name tag, “Tashala. Goodnight, Miss Tashala.”

Sankara turns to leave. Tashala reaches out and grabs his arm. He turns to face her. She embraces him, “I am pleased that we have discovered each other. My mother would have liked you.” She enters her compartment and closes the door.

He walks away thinking of her. The warmth of her body felt nice. Sankara thinks that they are both real humans and not replicates. He wishes he could tell his father about her. He has felt alone since he was brought aboard. He no longer feels that way.

He lies in bed and thinks of Tashala. He wonders why they are different and not like the replicates. Officer Tuareg had said “like a real human.” He does not care how he is seen or how he appears. He knows who he is. He is the son of Moshe Sankara.

Every day on the vessel, the replicates attend meals, briefings, and studies. Each day, a deeper understanding occurs within Sankara and Tashala. They eat each meal together and whisper of their discoveries. Sometimes, they touch.

The daily briefings continue to reveal more of the human condition. They both understand human biology as it relates to males and females. The friendship between them becomes stronger each day. They both have desires for each other, but they do not whisper about it. Sankara thinks of her when they are not together, as she does of him.

After each evening meal, they walk to her compartment. If no others are nearby, they embrace. This evening she opens the door, takes his hand, and leads him in. They are intimate.

Afterwards, Sankara walks to his dwelling. He thinks that his father and Tashala’s mother gave something special to each of them, human compassion and empathy. This is why that are not like the replicates. He feels grateful.

The next day’s briefing reveals more of the Master Species’ plan. Sankara and Tashala are both in despair. The briefing covers the eventual mining operations. Stage Three will then commence. The Master’s plan is to eradicate all humans.